Roadside Station Minamata

Surrounded by the scent of roses
You may become a little elegant!

In April 2022, the Minamata Tourist Products Center, formerly known as "Minamata Tourist Products Center Matsubokkuri," will undergo a complete makeover as "Shop & Cafe Minamata" and will be located on the premises of "Eco Park Minamata. The shop offers Minamata's specialty teas, Japanese and Western confections, salad onions, marine products, and more. The café corner offers Japanese black tea, coffee, citrus drinks, and sweets. The old product hall has been renovated as "Minamata Wooden Toy Museum Kirara," with wooden toys and play equipment for small children to play safely. It has become an oasis for families. In spring and fall, the roses in the adjacent rose garden are in full bloom. A "Rose Festa" is held every year around GW in May and from the end of October to mid-November. Rose soft-serve ice cream, available year-round, is very popular among women. Restaurant "Takenko" offers a new style of main dishes such as stone oven pizza and buffet. Home-roasted coffee is also recommended.

Roadside Station Minamata Map

Roadside Station Minamata Gourmet Information

Salad onions, a local specialty

Cultivated in the Minamata and Ashikita regions, JA Ashikita has given it the cute brand name "Saratama-chan." Shipped only during a short period from late March to late May, it is characterized by being fresher, thicker, and less pungent than ordinary onions. They get their name from the fact that they can be used raw in salads without being exposed to water. Of course, they are also popular in simmered and stir-fried dishes, where their sweetness increases.

The best place to eat Ishigama Buffet Takenko

Stone oven buffet takkenko

Around Roadside Station Minamata

Minamata Wooden Toy Museum Kirara

I'm proud of this one too.

The former Minamata Sightseeing Products Center "Matsubokkuri" was reconstructed and reborn as the "Minamata Wooden Toy Museum Kirara" where small children can play. The museum offers a wide variety of wooden toys that are safe and gentle to the touch for small children, including the "Yotchi-yotchi Zone" for children aged 0-3 and the "Ki-no-hiroba Zone" for children aged 3 to early elementary school age. The Waddling Zone also has a nursing room. Visitors can spend time playing with interesting toys that move, cute toys, a wooden ball pool, wooden horses, and a capra, etc., according to the age of the children.

rose garden

I'm proud of this one too.

The rose garden of "Eco Park Minamata" blooms every year in spring and fall with about 5,000 roses of 850 varieties, attracting visitors with the beauty of the queen of flowers. In spring, the vine roses, whose branches are entwined around pillars and arches, bloom, creating a gorgeous atmosphere together with other four-seasonal roses in the groves. In autumn, although the vines do not bloom, the beauty of each individual rose stands out, as they say that standing autumn roses are truly beautiful. Rose Festa" and other events are held during the blooming period.
Spring Late April - Late May
Autumn Mid-October to late November